


The World Was Wide Enough

by TellMyLegacy



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Based on The World Was Wide Enough, Gen, duel, poem, wait
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-07-28 19:39:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7654126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TellMyLegacy/pseuds/TellMyLegacy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three poems. Two enemies. One duel.</p><p>1. Ten Paces. Fire</p><p>2. Aaron Burr</p><p>3. Alexander Hamilton</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ten Paces. Fire.

A day full of explicitly painful letters

And unrequited, longing sighs

Is the ideal day for a man to die.

  


The guns in their hands shake,

As do the two men staring face to face.

Remembering the days of youthful grace,

Remembering when they used to call each other

“Friends.”

  


One man raises his gun towards his enemy,

Mind numb, teeth chattering,

Heart thundering as he thinks.

He thinks about his commanding father, and his genius mother.

He remembers the grave of his grandfather,

And saying goodbye to his beautiful wife.

He imagines his daughter, his dear Theodosia, 

smiling with her mother’s lips and kind heart.

If he returns home, would it be with a smile or a sigh?

His gun would be empty,

And his hands would be filled with bloody storms,

But would it all be worth it?.

The room is calling to him, waiting for him.

This man, his enemy, has taken everything,

But this  _ villain  _ will  _ not  _ take away the only light left in this darkness.

He is ready for the future.

He is done waiting.

  


The other man raises his gun towards his first friend,

His enemy, gun poised slightly higher than bullseye.

Eyes scanning the fields, desperate,

Looking for a sign of forgiveness, helpless.

He finds only the burning dawn,

And his eyes fill with tears when he hears his mother’s voice,

And Laurens’ hopeful dreams, 

and Washington’s wise advice.

He just wants to go with them, where pain no longer exists.

But Eliza would be so alone,

He would not see his children grow,

His legacy would be forgotten.

What is he doing?

Is he really throwing away his shot?

But then, he remembers a pair of scared eyes,

So much like his own,

And a tear falls down his cheek.

He just needs  _ one  _ last thing to be satisfied.

“Philip, my son, I’ll see you soon.”

  


_ Both men face one another. _

  


One.

Two.

Three.

  


_ Final glances at their familiar eyes, identical minds. _

  


Four.

Five.

Six.

  


_ They can only imagine what will happen next. _

  


Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

  


_ The world will never be the same... _

  


Ten.

  


_ But it will always be wide enough. _

  


A man aims at the chest of his enemy.

  


A man aims towards the sky.

  


They fire.

  
  


_ “WAIT!” _


	2. Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr gazed at the rising sun,

Steady breathing, mind sure.

The dirt beneath his feet seemed obscure,

And he realized _this_ has just begun.

 

Suddenly, the letter he left with his goodbye

Seemed far too confident and mistaken.

His life might just be stolen from him, taken,

And he left false promises weaved in a lullaby.

 

His inner thoughts are completely drained,

For his future abuser now stands before him.

The once bright eyes are now dim,

And the man that used to be his friend seems pained.

 

The gun in his hand feels heavy and wrong,

His heart thunders loudly, and he sighs.

His once friend, his enemy has fear in his eyes,

After all, he might never finish his narrative and song.

 

But Aaron is done waiting.

He remembers the faces of those who died,

And he can’t help but feel terrified.

At last, he will get what he had been awaiting.

 

This will be the final encounter, the final fight.

No more bickering, no more standing to the side.

This man cannot win, will not be justified.

Aaron will come home, and hug his daughter tight.

 

They start counting, slowly, as they wonder what will transpire.

_ Look him in the eye, aim no higher. _

_ Summon all the courage you require, _

Forget the past, forget the memories,  _ fire _ .

 

Aaron shoots with closed eyes,

And he never saw Alexander aiming his pistol at the sky.

His breath is stolen as the bullet pierces his friend.

He screams, 

_ “WAIT!” _

  
  
  
  
  
  


Aaron Burr had waited for glory all his life.

Now, history labels him as the “villain,”

And he never once corrected them.

As he laid on his deathbed, tired from living,

He whispered one last thing at the blink of dawn.

 

“The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me.”


	3. Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was death’s friend,

Since the begin to the end.

When he was a mere child he began to comprehend

That his life was destined to transcend.

 

He stands before his friend, his adversary,

Wondering where all the smiles became wary.

His name, he ponders, when did it become legendary?

But would it all be temporary? Or engraved in history?

 

He looks at the damned gun in his hands,

And he scans his surrounding, the cursed lands.

His child, his son, his pride, died here in the borderlands,

Near the same spot where he now stands.

 

He thinks of Eliza, his beautiful wife,

The woman he ruined because of his sinful strife.

He hopes she understands why he chose this life;

He wrote her a letter, perhaps they can meet in a better afterlife.

 

He looks at Aaron, and sees him glowering,

He’s always hated dueling, why is he souring?

And he now understands- his friend doesn’t want to kill him for devouring,

He wants to hurt him to feel empowering.

 

But after all the painful words and destructive fires,

he never wanted to hurt the man with the smiling desires.

Which is why his bullet flies skywards,

And he throws away his shot.

 

Alexander thinks of Eliza as the bullet flies,

And he smiles, knowing she’ll tell his story after he dies.

But he also wants her in the spotlight, he wants her to rise.

Then he realizes, he never got to tell her how much he loves her.

 

He feels a wet spot under his coat, and he falls to the ground,

He hears a “WAIT!,” and he sees Aaron with fear in his eyes.

He sees his son, his mother, his mentor, and he sees a hand,

Reaching towards him. He grabs it, and smiles.

 

John stands with a beautiful smile as he pulls the man

He loves close to his heart,

And he whispers,

“It looks like you’ve run out of time, Alex.”

 

Alexander’s eyes shine as he looks

At the people he lost and loves,

And he smiles. _And he smiles_. And he whispers,

“Raise a glass to freedom.”


End file.
